Green Party Responds to State of the City Address

<p>Monday night, Mayor Tom Richards gave an exciting presentation about the<br>State of the City.&nbsp; We, the candidates of Green Rochester, feel that the<br>Mayor presented an excessively positive vision for a City that is<br>struggling with some very serious issues.&nbsp; The speech was light on<br>specifics and had virtually no mention of the underlying root cause of so<br>many of Rochesters problems: poverty.&nbsp; Last weekend, Green Rochester<br>candidates spent time at the Carl Street Urban Farm Project, on the city's<br>northeast side. The residents of that neighborhood did not paint the same<br>rosy picture.<br><br>We recognize that Rochester is a city beset by many systemic problems,<br>including poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and a school system<br>struggling to serve its most basic functions.&nbsp; According to Green Rochester<br>candidate for Mayor, Alex White, "Investing $1.7 billion over 3 years in<br>various development projects has not solved any of these problems.<br>Poverty, homelessness, and infant mortality are all higher, while our<br>graduation rate is lower."<br><br>City Council Candidate, David Atias added, "Everyone understands what the<br>problems are. But the people currently running the show seem to think that<br>the solutions need to come from outside our own community.&nbsp; We have the<br>resources to do what needs to be done, but we keep giving them away to<br>people who don't live here."<br><!--break--><br>The candidates of Green Rochester are running on a platform that focuses on<br>investing in people not projects.&nbsp; "There is a difference between building<br>a building and building a business," says White.&nbsp; Green Rochester does not<br>think that the current policy of tax breaks and assessment deals for big<br>businesses is how Rochester can seriously address poverty, homelessness, or<br>the problems in our schools.<br><br>Rochester has serious problems that need serious solutions.&nbsp; The Mayor's<br>address, while hitting some good notes on education and providing some<br>flash to the evening, did not lay out a realistic vision for Rochesters'<br>future.&nbsp; Rochester can solve its' problems, but the solution is the new,<br>vibrant, community-based leadership offered by Green Rochester, not the<br>status quo policies enacted by the current political machine.</p>

<p>Monday night, Mayor Tom Richards gave an exciting presentation about the<br />State of the City.  We, the candidates of Green Rochester, feel that the<br />Mayor presented an excessively positive vision for a City that is<br />struggling with some very serious issues.  The speech was light on<br />specifics and had virtually no mention of the underlying root cause of so<br />many of Rochesters problems: poverty.  Last weekend, Green Rochester<br />candidates spent time at the Carl Street Urban Farm Project, on the city's<br />northeast side. The residents of that neighborhood did not paint the same<br />rosy picture.<br /><br />We recognize that Rochester is a city beset by many systemic problems,<br />including poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and a school system<br />struggling to serve its most basic functions.  According to Green Rochester<br />candidate for Mayor, Alex White, "Investing $1.7 billion over 3 years in<br />various development projects has not solved any of these problems.<br />Poverty, homelessness, and infant mortality are all higher, while our<br />graduation rate is lower."<br /><br />City Council Candidate, David Atias added, "Everyone understands what the<br />problems are. But the people currently running the show seem to think that<br />the solutions need to come from outside our own community.  We have the<br />resources to do what needs to be done, but we keep giving them away to<br />people who don't live here."<br /><br />The candidates of Green Rochester are running on a platform that focuses on<br />investing in people not projects.  "There is a difference between building<br />a building and building a business," says White.  Green Rochester does not<br />think that the current policy of tax breaks and assessment deals for big<br />businesses is how Rochester can seriously address poverty, homelessness, or<br />the problems in our schools.<br /><br />Rochester has serious problems that need serious solutions.  The Mayor's<br />address, while hitting some good notes on education and providing some<br />flash to the evening, did not lay out a realistic vision for Rochesters'<br />future.  Rochester can solve its' problems, but the solution is the new,<br />vibrant, community-based leadership offered by Green Rochester, not the<br />status quo policies enacted by the current political machine.</p>